Shared vision for innovation drives memorial playground in Pilesgrove-Woodstown, New Jersey

Pilesgrove-Woodstown, New Jersey, is a small community with a big heart. In 2007, the community rallied together to build a playground in honor of John Vascek, Jr., a local young man who died in a motorcycle accident in 2004. “His family established the John Vascek, Jr. Memorial Foundation to keep his name alive, while donating to charitable causes. John loved children, so it was a perfect fit for the foundation to fund a new playground that would also be a memorial,” recalls Jamie Danner, treasurer of the Pilesgrove-Woodstown Recreation Commission’s board of directors.

With funding in place, the commission interviewed play-ground design consultants and connected immediately with General Recreation, Inc. “We hit it off,” says Danner. “They were professional and fun— an awesome combination.”

General Recreation’s “Prince of Playgrounds,” Michael Wiley agrees. “We also connected because our company and the commission understood commitment to quality products and engineering. So, I took the opportunity to introduce them to Evos™, a very unique product line that they’d never seen before,” he explains.

“‘Whoa—what is that?’ was our initial reaction,” Danner recalls, laughing. “We fell in love with Evos. It was new, different, challenging, and definitely not boring— exactly what we were looking for.”

“We excel by listening to what our client wants, fulfilling needs, and exceeding expectations. When our client shares our vision for quality products, innovative structures, and community building, we can accomplish great things.” — Michael Wiley, Regional Sales Consultant

With less than 100 EVOS playgrounds in the United States and only a handful in New Jersey, Pilesgrove-Woodstown was excited to have a unique playground. It wasn’t difficult to garner community-wide support.

The commission was ecstatic that General Recreation and Wiley would not only design the playground, but also manage construction and oversee having the community build it. The winter season was getting closer, so efforts were sped up to organize the community build.

On February 29 and December 1, 2007, more than 50 community members helped build the John Vascek, Jr. Memorial Playground for the community’s 100- acre park complex. With a winter storm scheduled to hit that weekend, the team rallied together and finished a day ahead of schedule. Wiley was impressed by the diversity of the work crew.

“Teenagers, moms, dads, neighbors who didn’t even know they were neighbors, you name it, everyone was there…It was an amazing community build—potentially the best ever,” says Wiley.

“The Vascek and Ostrum families were also there to help with the build. They were determined to honor John’s name,” adds Danner.

To learn more about Evos, contact General Recreation 800-726-4793 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .